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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22918765">Day 057</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard'>Josh_the_Bard</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Year in Kirkwall [57]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 16:41:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>945</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22918765</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Merrill/Noll (Dragon Age OC)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Year in Kirkwall [57]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589257</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Day 057</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Merrill and Brennan spent the day, as they had spent the past few weeks, sharing stories, working their way through the list of outlandish spa treatments, experimenting with hair braiding techniques and anything they thought might make the time pass faster. Merrill had even let Brennan teach her some new spear drills so she could still be effective in combat when she couldn’t risk using magic.</p><p> Noll had come by, ostensibly to check on the prisoner, but Brennan has retreated into the mirror room to give them some privacy. They had mostly just talked, Noll and Grace were still working through the death of their family. Merrill couldn’t imagine what they were going through, if anything ever happened to her claim she didn’t know what she would do. </p><p>They offered Merrill a position in the elven militia if they were given permission to form one, or even if they weren’t, but Merrill declined. She wasn’t suited to bring in an organized force, not that she wouldn’t help out if there was a need but she spent too much time outside the alianage to commit to its defence so formally.</p><p>The day ended with Brennan asleep and Merrill reading a new book Noll had found in their ‘exploration’ of a noble's estate. It was a Tevinter manuscript from before the first blight, back when the humans were stealing everything they could from the ancient elves. There were mentions of looking glasses and the author was trying different things to activate even magic within. It certainly sounded like an eluvian to Merrill.</p><p>The author was clearly missing something but they didn’t know what. They needed a key but not a normal key, a magical key, only it might not work like a key until you brought it to the eluvian. Merrill had seen a door in an ancient elven rune that only opened if you performed a ritual of deference to the Creators. Maybe her eluvian worked the same way. Unfortunately, there was no way to know what the ritual might be out which Creator was tied to the mirror.</p><p>When the knock came to the door Merrill nearly jumped out of her chair. Noll has been by already and no one else ever came to visit her anymore. Was it a burglar? Merrill had never been burgled before. She didn’t know if that was unusual or not, there were so many thieves in Kirkwall they must be constantly burgling people. Did they think she didn’t have anything worth stealing? Merrill looked around her home and was forced to agree. Unless the burglars shared her love of old books or could carry her mirror out a window there wasn’t much for them here.  </p><p>Another knock, burglars didn’t knock, at least not in Varric‘s stories. Someone else then? Merrill made sure that her staff was close at hand when she opened the door. Alaren, the other Dalish blood mage in the alienage, was outside. He stared at her expectantly.</p><p>“Hello,” She said. “Come inside and have some tea.” She didn’t know why she had said that. She didn’t want Alaren inside and she didn’t want tea, not this late at night. It was the polite thing to say she supposed. </p><p>“I know things did not go very well the last time I was here,” he said as Merrill started boiling water for tea. “I did what I thought was necessary to protect the Alienage.”</p><p>“That’s all any of us can do,” Merrill replied. Alaren smiled, nodding like Merrill had just spoken the truth of the Creators. </p><p>“Indeed. I did want to ask you about something I noticed when I was here last.” He looked towards the mirror room where Brennan was sleeping. </p><p>“You don’t need to worry about Brennan,” Merrill lied. “She wants peace as much as any of us. She won’t tell the templars what you did to the other guard.”</p><p>“I’m glad to hear it,” Alaren said. “But I was, in fact, referring to your mirror. It is not a shemlen mirror is it? It is elvhen.”</p><p>“Umm, well,” Merrill stuttered. “I suppose it is. I’m trying to restore it but something is missing.” Merrill stopped herself from saying more. Aleren’s magic was subtle, she had already wanted to  discuss her project with someone who would understand. But Merrill didn’t trust Alaren and his fingers in her mind proved her mistrust was justified. </p><p>“I think it’s best if you leave,” She said. “This is my burden, and not one I will share with you.”</p><p>Alaren stood but did not move to leave. He was only an inch or two taller than Merrill but she was forced to look up to hold his gaze. </p><p>“I think you’ll find,” he said, “that you want me to stay. This time the attack was not subtle. Merrill felt the force of Alaren‘s will crash against hers. But Merrill was not some apprentice in her first years of study, but the first of her clan and she had been practicing blood magic for years. She took hold of the threads of magic Alaren was sending to her and yanked as hard as she could. </p><p>Alaren staggered forwards as the blood in his body was drawn towards Merrill, through his own skill he was able to keep it in his body but only barley. He looked at her with bloodshot eyes and let out a below of pain and rage. Merrill reached out to the earth to encase her in its armor but Alaren was too fast and Merrill took the full force of his attack as he launched a wave of force at her, its power enhanced by her enemy’s blood.</p>
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